Crystal Clear
by Natsudori Lina
Summary: They say the modern tradition is to give a couple crystal on their 3rd anniversary. A series of unrelated drabbles written for Usako mamoru Livejournal Community's 3rd Anniversary Challenge
1. Family

Usako_Mamoru 3rd Anniversary Challenge- 2009

Week 1- Holidays

Day 1- Family

By Natsudori Lina

Usagi had always been big on anniversaries. She could point out that fateful day that she'd thrown a test paper over her head on a calendar. The first time Mamoru kissed her was burned into her mind. She knew when they'd started dating, when they'd started dating _again_, the day he proposed to her, their wedding anniversary, and a slew of other dates in between.

"Usako, have you seen my shoes?" Mamoru poked a tousled head out from their

bedroom. She'd rubbed off on him since the early days of their marriage. It seemed that when he had someone to share the morning with, he was reluctant to get off to work.

She yawned from within her pink robe. "Mmm. Think I kicked them under your side of the bed. They were in my way."

Mamoru yanked the loafers on from beneath their bed (where Usagi had indeed kicked them) and grabbed his briefcase. He hurried to the door before turning around hastily. He delivered a quick kiss to her expectant lips. "I'll be home for dinner. Seven, right?" he called over his shoulder.

"Uh-huh," Usagi said, a small smile playing about her mouth as the lock clicked behind him. She'd have to have Mako-chan make something special for dinner, she thought, laying a hand against her still flat stomach.

It wasn't every day she got to add an anniversary to her list.


	2. Friends

Usako_mamoru 3rd anniversary challenge 2009

Day 2- Friends

By Natsudori Lina

Swirls of colors, of jewel tones, of blacks, and whites, and expensive fabrics whirled past her. She twirled around the dance floor in the arms of a tuxedo-clad man, barely paying attention to her feet.

Usagi had never been this graceful.

She concentrated instead on the man whose arms gently encircled her. High cheekbones in a perfectly sculpted face. Healthy skin. Amused, crinkled blue eyes. Black hair with a hint of blue to it. His eyes remained fixed on hers as he lifted her hand to his lips and she blushed prettily.

Usagi had never been this poised.

Her slim white hands smoothed down the tulle on the skirt of her dress, and he captured that errant hand as he lead her once more around the dance floor. The music slowed. So did they. It stopped. They did too. He lifted her chin with a finger and she closed her eyes and puckered her lips.

Usagi had never been this lucky.

"Usagi-chaaaaan," a distant voice intruded.

"Minna-chan, this is wrong, we shouldn't have just barged into her room."

"Well, a phone call wouldn't have worked."

"Enough—Minako, stop poking her. Get up, Odango!"

Usagi whirled in a tangle of limbs, and hair, and linens from her bed onto her floor. After a confused moment, in which she looked around with heavy-lidded eyes, she seemed to realize what had happened. And more notably that she was awake. "I'm going to kill you, Pyro!" she screeched, leaping to her feet.

Rei, perhaps heeding Usagi's imminent warning for once, took off running.

After all, Usagi had never been this pissed.


	3. Food

Usako_mamoru 3rd anniversary challenge 2009

Day 3: Food

By Natsudori Lina

Mamoru hated when Usagi dieted. It so rarely happened due to her love of all things edible and her genetic inclination to stay naturally slim, but there were days after she'd polished off more than one carton of ice-cream, gorged herself on chocolate bars, and Rei had made one too many "moon middle" jokes, that she swore off anything unhealthy. He'd try to convince her that she didn't need it, but her mouth would firm resolutely and she'd clear their fridge (much to his dismay) of any sugar.

She'd munch on carrot sticks (he had to restrain himself from the obvious rabbit jokes). She'd glare at the chocolate milkshakes, narrowing her blue eyes at them as though they'd done something to offend her. They'd go out for dinner and she'd poke sadly at her steamed vegetables, while watching the bread with wary eyes. Stranger things had turned out to be youma, he supposed. He stayed silent as she stared fixedly at his Spaghetti Florentine—a hunter with her prey in sight.

He signaled for the waiter and politely requested a chocolate mousse to round out the meal.

"You don't mind, do you Usako? I'm still so hungry," he said innocently.

She gritted her teeth. "Not at all." This as she began to stab at her vegetables. The fork clinked against the plate. Mamoru winced. "I'm absolutely fine, Mamo-chan." _Stab. _"These veggies are so satisfying." _Stab._ "I don't need the calorie-fest, chocoholic, sugar-induced _coma_ that that mousse will give you." _Stab, stab. _She chewed ferociously and smiled when the waiter brought the mousse to put in front of Mamoru.

"Go ahead, Mamo-chan," she said from behind that saccharine sweet smile. "_Enjoy."_

Mamoru gulped, but resolutely lifted the fork. A scant second after he'd closed his mouth around the rich treat, he found an Usako attached to his lips. She slanted her mouth over his, hand pressing insistently on the back of his head. After a moment's surprise, he entangled his hand in her hair and pulled her closer, sending her stumbling from her bent-over position next to the table and into his lap. His other arm encircled her tiny (always tiny, he thought stubbornly) waist. Kissing Usako was better than any old mousse anyway. His eyes closed, and he pulled back to give her a soft smile.

"My God, that's good," she breathed. Her eyes were half-closed and glazed with a dreamy look.

His smile grew. He opened his mouth to reply

--And she hopped off his lap, stealing his mousse. "You were right, Mamo-chan. This dieting business was silly anyway. Could you ask the waiter for more rolls? I'm_ starving._" She took her first real bite of the mousse and melted, pleasure flooding her face.

"Oh my _God."_

He hastily signaled for the check and asked for the rolls—to go.

"What's the rush, Mamo-chan?" Usagi looked up at him from beneath heavy lidded lashes. Her cheeks were rosy from her frenzied eating. She took another bite of the mousse and let out a low moan. "This is _so_ good."

He hated when she dieted… but he loved when she stopped.


	4. Visiting

Usako_mamoru 3rd anniversary challenge 2009

Day 4: Visiting

By Natsudori Lina

"She's beautiful, your majesty," Pluto said politely, flicking her gaze towards the silver-haired babe that would one day be the downfall of their civilization.

Queen Serenity stared down at her newborn daughter and ran a hand through her downy hair. Adoration was in every movement, every touch, every glance. "Thank you, Pluto," she murmured. She shifted her attention to the Senshi of Time. "Nothing to be concerned about at the time gates, I trust?" Her tone was light yet businesslike, and her hand remained in the bassinette, gently pinching the little princess's tiny foot between two fingers.

Pluto paused for a moment that was imperceptible to all but Chronos (and even he would have been hard-pressed to name it so). "Yes, your majesty. Everything is… as it should be."

The queen nodded, already refocused on her daughter. "Good." She smiled down at Princess Serenity, and lifted that same soft, mothering look to Pluto. "Thank you for coming, Pluto."

Pluto battled with herself, tempted, as she always was, to tell the queen of all that she really knew. But how could she tell the queen that she'd just come from visiting the three year-old who was her daughter's soulmate? How could she tell her that Metallia was, even now, stirring on the surfaces of the sun? How could she tell her that the princess would grow up wondering about that blue and green marble that hung in the sky?

And _how_ could she tell her that it would bring about their doom?

She gripped the Time Key. No. Some day, millennia from now, a test paper would land on the head of the prince's reincarnation and the future would be ensured. They'd have an era of peace in Crystal Tokyo one day. This time stream was still the best viable option.

Telling the queen anything else was not her place, she thought, sinking into a bow. "Thank you, your majesty," she murmured. She whirled her talisman and stepped through the portal back to the gates.

No, not her place at all, she mused, staring at the different doors.

She was, after all, only visiting.


	5. Picnic

Usako_mamoru 3rd anniversary challenge 2009

Day 5: Picnic

By Natsudori Lina

Usagi had a very set idea of what a picnic should be. It involved slight breeze, a fun, flirty sundress, and a checkered blanket. It involved a basket stuffed with Mako-chan's lunches, her closest friends, and maybe a game or two of Frisbee.

It most certainly did _not _involve a certain jerk sprawled out all over _her _blanket. She yanked the hem of her pink and orange-flowered dress out from under Mamoru's elbow with a glare.

"Baka," she spat, "_why _are you here again?"

He smirked, rolling his eyes toward her. "Makoto invited Motoki. Motoki invited me."

She pouted. "I wish he hadn't," she muttered, staring forward at the Frisbee game that the others were beginning to organize. _You're glad he's here,_ a traitorous part of her mind whispered. She snuck a look at him from the corners of her eyes. She'd never seen him quite this way, in sneakers and a sleeveless T-shirt. He had muscles she'd never seen before hidden under that green jacket and black turtleneck. His spine wasn't held so perfectly rigid, his shoulders were relaxed, and his head was pillowed on his hands.

"You're glad I'm here, Odango," he drawled lazily from down on the blanket.

"I am not," she grumbled. "You ate the last piece of Mako-chan's cookie cake."

"I saved you from yourself," he told her, poking one insolent finger into her stomach. "And you are too." He sat up and shot her that cocky half-smile of his. "What else would you be doing if I wasn't here?" He waved his arm in the direction of the game. "Playing Frisbee?" He snorted. "Not likely."

Usagi stood and shook a few stray blades of grass from her dress. "Mako-chan!" she called, ignoring Mamoru's derisive chuckles behind her. "I want to play!"

"If Odango's going to play, I guess I'll play too. No sense missing out on this comedy show."

The grin that Makoto shared with Usagi was fiendish. "That's fine. Tell you what, the two of you will be on different teams. Then, you can uh… really show Usagi what's what."

The game was set up and Makoto threw the Frisbee to start. She flew it over to Motoki, who tried to pass it to Mamoru. A blonde blur whizzed in front of him and Usagi pivoted on her heels as her dress swirled about her knees.

She tossed a sassy smile over her shoulder at him. "Gonna have to do better than that, Baka-san."

She shot it towards Minako, who fumbled, but caught the Frisbee and threw it to Ami. Ami tossed it in Rei's direction, but it fell short and was scooped off of the ground by Mamoru. He threw in it a perfect line towards Makoto, but Usagi was suddenly there again, plucking it out of the air.

Without moving her eyes from Mamoru, Usagi's lips quirked up in a grin. She curved her arm wide and threw it around his body to Rei.

"I'm not impressed so far, Baka-san!" Usagi sing-songed.

Rei threw the Frisbee across the field to Minako. Motoki grabbed it just as it left Minako's hand, but Usagi grabbed it on its way to Makoto.

"Last chance, Baka-san!" she yelled, without surveying her surroundings. Hands suddenly reached around her to lock onto the Frisbee. She shrieked, and tumbled backwards, managing to shoot it towards Minako, who ran a brief two feet to score.

Mamoru's breath left him in a soft 'oomph' as Usagi landed on his chest. Her dress brushed the backs of her knees and her legs were splayed over his. His hand went to the small of her back, seemingly of its own accord. Both of their breaths came in uneven puffs and a light sheen of sweat lined their foreheads. They stared, startled, into each other's eyes before Mamoru spoke.

"Where," he demanded, "did you learn to do that?"

Usagi smirked and pushed herself off of his chest to stand. Her dress was damp with perspiration, but it had been worth it, she thought. "Natural talent," she claimed. "The important thing to remember here is," she turned to see him watching her walk away. Her lips curved. "I win."

She sashayed away, smiling to herself.

Her idea of a perfect picnic had just changed.


	6. Vacation

Usako_mamoru 3rd anniversary challenge 2009

Day 6: Vacation

By Natsudori Lina

Vacations were not friendly to the planetary royalty, Neo-King Endymion thought grimly as his wife settled herself in his lap and gave him a puppy dog stare. Hell, traveling altogether generally turned out unfavorably for them. When Usagi had gone to the hot springs, the Dark Kingdom had (okay, _he_ had) unleashed a centuries old curse. Galaxia had stolen his star seed when he'd tried to study in America. And did he even need to _mention_ the North Pole?

…Right. Didn't think so.

It was with all of this in mind that Endymion's lips firmed and he opened his mouth to sternly refuse.

"Mamo-chan," Serenity said softly.

His mouth closed.

But wait, there was that time Usagi, Rei, and Ami had gone on that cruise! And when they'd visited him at the resort where he'd worked over the summer, they'd had to defend Makoto's teacher. He opened his mouth again eagerly.

Serenity began to trace patterns on his lapels with her fingertips. He swore to God, she must have rehearsed this. "Honey, it's just been so long since we've had a break. We haven't done anything but diplomatic missions since our honeymoon."

Which, Endymion thought, had only avoided disaster because he (and, he suspected, Usagi) had threatened to maim the Senshi six ways from Sunday if they were disturbed in any way.

"I just thought it'd be nice to get away for a weekend," Serenity continued, lifting her blue eyes to his, still circling her nails on his chest. "You know--" she blushed and looked down before peering back up at him through lowered lashes. "Just the two of us?"

She'd definitely rehearsed it, he thought with an inward smile, but he didn't quite care anymore. He pulled her hands from his chest and lifted her chin to his.

The hell with it, he thought, kissing his wife with abandon. The universe had survived the millennia between their incarnations.

It could sure as hell last a weekend.


	7. Celebration

Usako_mamoru 3rd anniversary challenge 2009

Day 7: Celebration

By Natsudori Lina

Since becoming the Neo-Queen, Serenity had grown to hate her birthday. Back when she was seventeen, it had been a day all about _her._ She'd eaten what she wanted, gotten the presents that she'd asked for, and Mamoru had taken her wherever she wanted to go.

Now, it was all about _diplomacy_, Serenity thought as she woke up, and the word tasted sour in her mind. Her birthday was celebrated by people all over the world, with fireworks, with noisemakers, and with raucous parties. It was celebrated by pretty much everyone. _Except her. _

Instead, Serenity thought, yanking her comforter back over her head, she was forced to attend ceremonies. To cut ribbons and pose for publicity photos. To deliver strained smile after strained smile for the openings of the Crystal Monument. The Silver Millenium Memorial. The _freaking _Bishoujo Senshi _Museum. _

For Selene's sake, they were _still alive!_

"Usako?" Endymion entered the room. "Are you awake?"

She grunted into her pillow. "I _refuse_ to get out of this bed."

He laughed. "It's your birthday, Usako. You have to get up if you want your presents."

"You can just bring them to me."

"I can't carry all of them."

Serenity peeked one blue eye out from under the covers. "Are these _good _presents?" she asked suspiciously.

"I thought I saw a first edition shoujo manga in there."

She lifted her tousled silver head and regarded him seriously. "If you're fibbing, I'm going to be _very upset_ with you."

He raised a hand solemnly, blue eyes dancing with laughter. "Hand to God."

She sat up and folded the golden satin comforter over in front of her. "And who exactly is going to be there while I open these presents?"

Endymion shrugged. "You. Me. Chibi-Usa, Ami, Rei, Makoto, and Minako. I think Haruka and Michiru were going to try to make it in, but I'm not sure if they're here yet. And you never know when Pluto's going to pop in."

"…That's it?"

He nodded an affirmative.

"No cameras? No press? No," her cheek twitched "_ribbons?_"

Endymion shook his head.

A beat of silence passed before Serenity asked suspiciously, "I can go in my pajamas?"

He nodded.

"I don't have to dress up for anyone? I can leave the crown in its case?" She paused. "Okay, how did you manage this?"

He laughed. "I'm the king, Usako, I don't have to ask for permission." It was his turn to pause. "Minako said it was okay."

She lifted her arms and cheered. "Well then, what are we still waiting for Mamo-chan? I have presents to open!"

Serenity leapt from the bed in her pink flannel pajamas and donned her bunny slippers. She ran past her husband, grabbing his hand, and dragging him behind her.

This birthday thing was looking up.


	8. Presents

Usako_mamoru 3rd anniversary challenge 2009

Day 8: Presents

By Natsudori Lina

Mamoru was bad at buying gifts. It was something Usagi knew, but accepted as his loving girlfriend.

The first thing he'd ever given her was a Fruit of the Month club subscription. It was just after they'd started dating, so she could understand it, she guessed. There was, after all a lot of pressure for him to live up to after discovering the whole destined soul mate thing. And here was a gift that said, "I want to be around to see you discover a new fruit every month, but hey, I'm not ready to get you a ring yet and this way you'll at least be healthy while I figure this whole thing out."

A bunch of small gifts came next. A gift card to a bookstore. A beginner's yoga kit. Meditation CDs. A certificate to a store that he had been horrified to learned was… well, less than proper. These, she rightfully assumed, had her friends behind them. Not his fault.

Her last birthday gift had been a truly horrendous necklace, made up of silver and chunky rose quartz rocks. A definite step up from the fruit club, but still something Usagi wore only when he mentioned it. See, now _this_ was a gift that said "I love you, I'm committed, I have zero fashion sense… you like pink, right?"

Lately, Mamoru had taken to gifting her with random things that "reminded him of her." This meant that Usagi was amassing quite a collection. There was the cheap rose-scented perfume that smelled more like ethyl alcohol when sprayed, the moonscape poster that she might have liked if it had been in watercolors or something, and a Sailor Moon plushie that made her look fat.

Usagi stared at the latest contribution he'd just handed her. It was a screen-printed fitted tee with a scene of bunnies in a meadow gracing its front. The rabbits' sky glittered with rhinestones and sparkles.

Minako would never let her live it down. Rei would tease her for a year _at least_.

She looked from the T-shirt to his earnest blue eyes. Sighing, she leaned in for a thank you kiss.

The things she would do for this man.


	9. Carols

Usako_mamoru 3rd anniversary challenge 2009

Day 9: Carols

By Natsudori Lina

Once a year, usually in the summer months, the Crown Arcade sponsored a charitable venture. The method changed annually, as did the chosen recipient, but customers had never complained before. _How nice_, they thought, _that the Crown wants to give back to the community. How nice it is that the owners are so _giving, _so _sweet.

But the philanthropy had never been "Cut the Carols" before.

On June 25th, Motoki donned an elf's cap and a cycle of the most irritating Christmas carols he could think of was put on loop. 'Christmas Don't Be Late,' 'Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer,' and 'Wonderful Christmastime' were only a few of the gems he'd dug up.

"Cut the Carols!" the oversized blonde elf bellowed, ringing a bell and grinning maniacally. "500 yen stops the music for 5 minutes!"

Mamoru cradled his head with both hands and tried to block out the music with his elbows. "Motoki," he ground out through gritted teeth. "I will give you five hundred _thousand_ yen if you will turn that crap off for the rest of the day."

Motoki shot him a grin and plunked coffee down before him. Mamoru sipped gratefully. "Can't do it, Mamoru-kun. I don't know how much money I'll make without your contribution. Who's to say I'm not doing the Children's Hospital a disservice by accepting?"

"You're doing my eardrums a disservice by refusing."

"Ah," Motoki said with a smirk, pointing towards the double glass doors. "But I'm doing your eyes a favor."

Mamoru turned to see Usagi bounce in, doing her best to tug down the skirt that was doing nothing to cover her long, _loooong_ legs. The skirt was pink velvet, lined with white fur and she was also wearing a matching tank top and Santa hat.

"Where did you want me to collect donations, Motoki-san?" she chirped. He pointed to the arcade area. Her blue eyes narrowed as she shot Mamoru a disdainful look in greeting. "Baka," Usagi said coolly.

Mamoru stared wordlessly.

"Oookay," she said, turning to Motoki. Her pigtails flew. "I'm a little weirded out… Motoki-san, did the Baka finally go mute?"

"No, Usagi-chan," Motoki said solemnly. "He just got a serious shock."

"Oh." She cast him a sympathetic look and laid a tentative hand on his shoulder. Mamoru's eyebrows shot up and he straightened his spine. "I hope everything's alright Baka-san. Just listen to the music! Cheer up!" She swished her hips to the beat of the music. "Fa la la la la, la la la la," she sang under her breath, moving to her assigned station.

Mamoru's eyes remained trained on the petite blonde. Her hips were still moving in time with the music as she began to ring a bell and take up Motoki's war cry. "Motoki," Mamoru croaked. "I will pay double any donation as long as you do _not_ shut that off."

Motoki handed him earplugs, which Mamoru gratefully accepted. "Had a feeling you'd change your tune."

"Shut up."

"You're welcome."

Mamoru ignored him, choosing instead to put the earplugs in. "Please, Christmas," he murmured, still watching Usagi. "_Don't_ be late."


	10. Christmas Trees

Usako_mamoru 3rd anniversary challenge 2009

Day 10: Christmas Trees

By Natsudori Lina

Christmastime had always been bittersweet for Mamoru. He didn't have a family to share the occasion with. He had never, to his recollection, woken up and gone running into his parents' bedroom to jump on their bed and excitedly proclaim that Santa had been there. There had never been a pile of Christmas presents for him under the tree.

He was there instead.

Mamoru's favorite Christmas trees had always been the pines. He'd loved to lie beneath them, resting his head on the bare tree skirt and looking up into the dark green needles. The scent of evergreen tickled his nostrils, the needles rustled against each other, whisper-quiet, and Mamoru closed his eyes and listened to them speak to him. The needles sounded like wind chimes in his mind: they tinkled gently and teased him. They giggled, but were simultaneously soothing. _You're not alone, _they seemed to say as the pine needles fell down on him in a soft evergreen rain.

"Mamo-chan?"

Mamoru's eyes snapped open from where he'd been laying beneath this year's tree. Usagi had insisted that his apartment looked too bare during the holiday seasons, and while he absolutely would _not _allow her to festoon his living room with statues of jolly old Saint Nick, he had conceded to a Christmas tree (…and one sprig of mistletoe).

Usagi walked into Mamoru's apartment. She was dressed warmly in a red sweater and jeans, a black coat thrown on over it. The spare key that she had only recently been gifted with was still clutched in her hand. In her other hand she held a sack filled with brightly-colored packages. She tilted her head curiously.

"Mamo-chan? What are you doing down there?"

Mamoru blinked at her from where he still lay, his arms a pillow beneath his head. "Um. Listening?"

Usagi set the sack aside. "I'll have to put the presents under there later." She kicked off her shoes and plopped to the floor, scooting forward until she reached the tree. She stopped and peered under the branches at Mamoru, who only stared back at her. She wiggled her way under the tree and laid her head on Mamoru's chest.

"Ah—Usako?" His arms encircled her automatically. He looked down at the blonde head resting quite comfortably on him. "What—

She swatted his stomach absentmindedly. "Hush, Mamo-chan," she said, eyes closed. Her head rose and fell with each one of his breaths. "I'm listening too."


	11. Church

Usako_mamoru 3rd anniversary challenge 2009

Day 11: Church

By Natsudori Lina

It had been a long time since Mamoru had been inside of a church.

He didn't exactly have any beef with the big man upstairs, but He clearly wasn't working for Mamoru either. His parents had been taken from him, stolen away much like his memories. Mamoru'd had to work for every penny he'd ever earned. He wasn't doing Mamoru any favors, so Mamoru certainly wasn't going to go out of his way for Him.

But when Mamoru was walking down the street one ordinary day, a failed test paper nailed him right between the eyes. He let his eyes drift forward to the blonde ahead of him, whose pigtails were swinging back and forth with the sway of her hips.

As Mamoru opened his mouth to call ahead to her, he made a mental note to attend church the next day.

He had a feeling Heaven's head honcho had just done him a solid.


	12. Snow

Usako_mamoru 3rd anniversary challenge 2009

Day 12: Snow

By Natsudori Lina

"Odango," Mamoru's voice was hopelessly amused. "What on earth are you doing?"

Usagi looked up from her position over her breakfast. Her waffles had been systemically decimated, torn into pieces and stacked into a dome. Her tongue poked out of the side of her mouth in concentration and her blue eyes darted over to Mamoru once before dismissing him and returning to the mutilation of her meal. "Go away, Baka-san," she said absentmindedly. "Can't you see that I'm busy?"

"I see that," he said slowly, taking a seat across from her in the booth. "With what exactly?"

Usagi set aside her fork (or, as Mamoru had privately began to think of it, her murder weapon). "Breakfast," she said with great patience, "sucks."

He blinked.

"I'm trying to eat food that I don't really want yet because I woke up not that long ago. I'm still tired. I still want to be in bed. I have this constant thought in my mind that this food would taste _so _much better after a couple more hours of sleep." She glared down at her plate and continued. "So, this pile of waffles is really _not_ that interesting to me. It doesn't excite me. And, as I'm sure _you _know--"

"--Food _always_ excites you."

She shot Mamoru a venomous look. "You didn't need to chime in there, we all know it's true, I _don't need to be reminded of that._"

His lips twitched. "So you're trying to make your waffles more exciting?"

She nodded.

"More interesting?"

Another nod.

"By putting them in a pile?"

Usagi picked up her fork again. "It is a _hut,_" she said with great dignity.

Mamoru looked thoughtfully at said "hut." He reached across the table and grabbed a can of whipped cream. The hut was sprayed generously, despite Usagi's indignant gasp. A nearby packet of sugar was torn open and sprinkled it on top, on the sides, and around the waffle bits. She snatched it out of his hands.

"Baka-san, what are you _doing?"_

Mamoru looked at Usagi's plate. Waffle squares were piled on top of each other. Whipped cream fairly dripped down from them. Granules of sugar were littered about the surface of the plate.

"It's a snowscape," he said seriously.

She looked at him. "A snowscape," she repeated flatly.

"Uh-huh. See the igloo?"

Usagi wrinkled her nose and threw her napkin at him as he burst out laughing. Giggles overtook her a moment later and she ate the remainder of her meal in companionable silence broken only by an occasional snort from Mamoru's side.

Well… _he _certainly thought breakfast had been interesting.


	13. Stars

Usako_mamoru 3rd anniversary challenge 2009

Day 13: Stars

By Natsudori Lina

The first time he'd met her, Mamoru saw red.

To be precise, it was a red 'F,' followed by a stain of red on her cheeks. He, who was usually so calm, so collected, had somehow found himself red in the cheeks as well, shouting at this girl who was only a stranger. When she'd finally stormed away, he'd been left shaking his head in wonder, glad to see her go. She had only upset his control. He'd walked away, the haze of red fading from his vision. He'd never anticipated that the encounter would become so commonplace over the next few weeks, every time he went to see Motoki in fact, but that was fine. The important thing was he was still ultimately in control.

Another time they'd met on the street, Mamoru had sworn he'd seen canaries.

The little yellow birds had flitted about his head, the direct after-effects of a shoe to the forehead. Worried blue eyes had popped in his field of vision as he lay on the sidewalk, only for him to be dismissed. "Oh, it's just you."

And he welcomed back that red, the red that clouded his vision and his judgment and his sense of time. Usagi had no way of knowing that that was what she did to him. His eyes swam with anger, he couldn't _see _straight, and he just wanted to _grab_ her and wipe that little smirk off.

And before he was quite sure of what he was doing, he had her gripped by the shoulders and hauled up against him. The smirk was gone now and all traces of amusement had left her face. Her eyes searched his and he watched, fascinated, as her pulse beat a frantic tattoo in her neck.

Her voice was hushed, an inquisitive whisper. "Mamoru-s--"

She got no further. Her voice was silenced abruptly by his mouth on hers. His hand kneaded the small of her back. The other tugged at her hair. His arms around her were like steel bands and his lips moved over hers with fervor, the pressure such that Usagi was certain her lips were bruising, but she just couldn't seem to care. Her hand knotted in his hair and his arms around her were no longer necessary as she pressed her body to his, urgent—

He broke away, panting.

Usagi stared at him. Her face was flushed; not red, but a delicate pink. She was breathless and her hair was mussed and she was blinking like an owl and she looked beautiful.

"Mamoru—what--"

His lips descended on hers again, a gentle caress this time. She sighed and languidly wound her arms around his neck, eyes closed, relaxing into it.

The first time he'd kissed her, Mamoru saw _stars._


End file.
